So my bantam cochin must have a hot butt because my 6 call duck eggs are hatching a few days early. They all have pips in them and I can hear peeping when I lift "mama" up to see them. This is my first time using a chicken instead of an incubator to hatch eggs so I need some help.
Do I leave the eggs and eventually hatched chicks under her until they are fluffed out, or do I take the eggs out and let them finish hatching in my incubator? I am using a kitty litter plastic bin filled with pine wood shavings as the nest box but it is very poopy and dirty after a month (not the straw you see in photo). I am setting up a big aquarium to use for a brooder once they are hatched and ready.
I also have another hen sitting on eggs in a box next to her. Do I need to worry about that hen trying to steal her nest or hurt the eggs/chicks if she hears them peeping?
Do I leave the eggs and eventually hatched chicks under her until they are fluffed out, or do I take the eggs out and let them finish hatching in my incubator? I am using a kitty litter plastic bin filled with pine wood shavings as the nest box but it is very poopy and dirty after a month (not the straw you see in photo). I am setting up a big aquarium to use for a brooder once they are hatched and ready.
I also have another hen sitting on eggs in a box next to her. Do I need to worry about that hen trying to steal her nest or hurt the eggs/chicks if she hears them peeping?
